Chen's with BFF

Last Sunday, before the start of a difficult week for my BFF, we decided to meet up for lunch to brace ourselves for what's to come. Sometimes, good friends and good food can prepare you for anything. We went to Chen's in Richmond, for some delicious Shanghainese food.

First thing we ordered...XLBs. I have to say...these were really really good. Better than Shanghai Village but not as good as NingTu. Really juicy inside, and they don't close the top all the way, so you can suck out the soup that way if you want. SO SO good.

Another one of my favourites is the Pork Chop Noodle in Soup. I like how they served it separately, so that the pork chop doesn't get soggy!

A huge bowl of noodles, more than enough for the three of us...her boy loved the noodles...nice and soupy. Thinner than usual, but cooked perfectly.

The deep-fried pork chops were crispy, with a touch of curry/tumeric flavour. They served it on the side of the noodles, and with a knife and fork! But what I actually like to do is...dunk the fried pork into my noodle & soup...making it slightly soggy, and easily bite-able. Yummy!

Because it was a cold and soggy day, we decided to warm ourselves up with a Hot and Sour Soup. It wasn't exactly what we expected...the hotness came from pepper instead of chilies. Weird, but by the second bowlful, I accepted it. It wasn't as sour as I hoped, but it was good. Just different.

Another dish we ordered was the steamed sticky rice dumpling. They called it sweet sticky rice on the menu, but it's totally not. For those of you familiar with the sticky rice from dim sum and other Chinese places, that's what's inside. And it's wrapped in a thin dumpling/bread skin...SO good...but so heavy! I can't wait until lil Ryan grows up and he can have a whole one on his own!

One of my favourites at Shanghainese places is the salty sticky rice. It's essentally Chinese sushi...with dried pork floss, preserved veggies and a Chinese donut. Really good, and freshly made here. It was the last thing to arrive for us, but normally, it's the first thing to come at other places. I guess that's how you know...they make it fresh!

I've had better versions of the same elsewhere, but the softness of the rice makes it different. You know it's fresh. One thing...cash only. Wish we had known that before we got there. Good thing a run to the bank isn't that far...but oh, it was cold! Another note: they're closed on Wednesdays! Would you believe that all this food only cost us $28!?!? I almost don't want to share this gem... I hate lineups!